Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Packing

Been thinking about packing over the past couple of days. I didn't realize how much it could entail.

Today, I am packing up things at work. Getting end of month items finished and sent off to the boss. It would have been easier if she hadn't decided to suddenly to year to date goal reviews. I hate doing goal reviews. Either you had a number of huge projects that you finished or you had a bunch of minor ones that you need to puff up to seem like major ones. Either which way, it seems the end result is a report that your boss can take to their boss to say "Hey, my team is doing such great things! Give me a raise!".

I think what gets me the most is that if I am doing my job efficiently, no one should notice. Things go smoothly. There are no issues. My job is like that of an offensive lineman. You usually get noticed when you do something wrong. Flag on the play. Illegal shift, StB, 2 hour overtime penalty, repeat the job. Thus, I particularly don't like puffing up the work I have done over the last 9 months to make it seem like it is more than it is. Don't get me wrong. I do work hard and I believe I earn my keep (except for Fridays and don't feel like doing anything), but the big project I wanted to accomplish wasn't possible. The tech resources are not there and there was no way I could proceed. I can only push for it next year.

So today is packing at work day. Once the goals are done, I will set up some work to be done in my absence, complete one final report, set the out of office to "on" and be gone.

Later, I will be doing packing the bags for my Florida trip tomorrow. It will be like a drinking convention hosted by our keynote speaker, Al. Convention activities include deep sea fishing, booze, poker, booze, women, booze, and booze. I have a feeling I am overpacking. I figure a shirt for each day plus one for fishing should suffice. Al mentioned it is very casual so I do not see having to pack anything for going out to bars. Sheesh, like I would anyways. For some reason though, I feel the need to bring a couple extra t-shirts or something. Not sure why but it feels right. As long as I have room, it doesn't really matter.

I also have to pack my DVD player, magazines, and books. Not sure what I am taking there either. Hopefully the latest discs will arrive from Netflix. If not, I think I will go with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks 2. Kevin Smith movies seem ideal for this excursion. I have the MP3 player charged up and good to go. I am thinking of what CDs to bring to listen to in the rental car. Anthrax, Among the Living. Metallica, Ride the Lightening. Night Ranger, Hole in the Sun. And Bang Camaro. Not quite sure what I will bring for reading material. Right now I am thinking a book I read a number of years ago called The Art of Possibility. I enjoyed it back then and for some reason haven't read it since. I recall being inspired and in a better train of thought. So I will be packing that book as well.

I am going to grab some lunch now. Once that is done, I will mentally begin to pack it in at work. Put on the headphones and drift away.